CN continues to see growth for Fairview Terminal

Canadian National is expressing optimism that the volume of trade through the Fairview container Port is going to continue to grow. Either through another shipping line calling at the North coast port or through increased volume from their existing customers.

In a story in the Prince George Citizen, James Foote, the railroad's Vice President of marketing and sales, is quoted as telling a financial conference in New York City that the new container service is adding 100 million dollars to the CN revenue accounts. He added during his presentation that the potential for up to 300 million dollars in revenues through Prince Rupert is certainly within reach.

The Citizen article also highlighted how the Rupert port is adding to the ability of a Prince George based industry to compete in the world marketplace, sending containers filled in the interior city through Prince Rupert and on to Russia.

CN upbeat on Rupert port
Thursday, 20 March 2008, 02:00 PST
GORDON HOEKSTRA

Prince George Citizen

CN says it expects to add another customer or have its existing customers grow at the new $170-million container-handling facility in Prince Rupert this year.

"I am optimistic we will overachieve in our expectations this year by having another customer make Prince Rupert it's port of call, or have our existing customer base there increase that capacity," CN vice-president of marketing and sales James Foote told a JP Morgan aviation and transportation conference on Wednesday.

"Had the market for inbound container business not softened somewhat on the U.S. west coast this year, I believe we would have had that facility sold out to capacity," said Foote.
CN figures that the new container business is adding about $100 million in revenue, but that could grow to $300 million.

The first vessel unloaded containers in Prince Rupert last October.

COSCO, or the China Ocean Shipping Co., the world's sixth largest shipping company, in conjunction with the CKYH Alliance, are the first shippers to use the Prince Rupert port. The CKYH Alliance includes the Korean firm Hanjin, Japan's K-Line and Taiwan-based Yang Ming.
The $170-million container port has been lauded as a boost for northern B.C.'s economy, not only from in-bound container traffic, but from the potential for out-bound traffic as well.

Recently, Prince George-based Del-Tech Manufacturing announced it had reached a deal for a special container service with CN that allowed the company to compete in the global market.
Saving money on shipping individual containers, allowed Del-Tech to ship 60 containers bound for Russia from CN's intermodal facility in Prince George.

The federal and provincial governments contributed $30 million each to the project, and Maher Terminal invested another $60 million. CN invested millions more in upgrades, including a container loading facility at Prince George.

The Prince Rupert terminal can handle 500,000 containers. A $650-million second phase will raise that capacity to two million containers by 2011.

Plans have also been started for a second terminal that would add a further two to three million containers worth of capacity by 2015. The Port of Vancouver handles 1.5 million containers a year.

Investment in the Northwest is nothing but good news for CN

Warren Buffet is a fan, as is Bill Gates, for CN having some of the world’s richest men express an interest in their company is a sure sign that they may be on the right track as they say.

While the rich industrialists examine their stock options, the railroad has been busy investing and expanding in its presence in the North and Northwest all tied in to the Port of Prince Rupert’s gateway to the world.

The Daily news featured a front page story on Wednesday that examined the railroads accomplishments in the last year, and where it sees the future going.

And wherever that future is going it would seem that a good portion of it will pass through the Port of Prince Rupert.

CN RAIL INVESTMENT ENSURES ALL RAILS LEAD TO RUPERT PORT

By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Pages one and three

With the Northwest transportation corridor up and running, northern Alberta transportation companies are working to increase the amount of traffic running through the Asia Pacific Gateway.

Earlier this week, Hunter Harrison, president and CEO of CN Rail, said investments in new infrastructure along its Northwest corridor are strengthening the domestic rail network in northern Alberta and bolstering the company's position in the international marketplace.

"CN's purchase of regional railways in Alberta and our commitment to upgrade these railways, our substantial investments in network capacity and new locomotive acquisitions, along with the investments to support global trade at the Port of Prince Rupert and in-land at Prince George, B.C., are significant for the economy of Canada," he said.

"We are protecting and ensuring the sustainability of rail service to resource industries in Alberta and investing in plant and equipment to provide quality rail infrastructure and service to all Canadian shippers. CN's investments are strengthening the Canadian rail network and helping to support the competitiveness of Canadian industry in North American and global markets."
CN is currently in the process of upgrading three Alberta shortlines that it acquired in recent years, strengthening the railway's connections to grain and oil and gas producing areas in northern Alberta.

In December 2007, the company announced the $25-million acquisition of the Athabasca Northern Railway Ltd. (ANY) and plans to rehabilitate ANY's rail line for $135 million during three years.

In 2006, CN purchased the Mackenzie Northern (MKNR) Railway and Lakeland & Waterways Railway (LWR) for $26 million and the Savage Alberta Railway, Inc., (SAR) for $25 million.
The company spent more than $60 million upgrading the three railways in 2006 and 2007, and will spend another $26 million on further upgrades to the properties in 2008. These rail lines give CN access to pulp and grain producing regions.

Finally, CN invested almost $300 million in Canada during 2003-2007 to extend sidings for more efficient train operations, to increase network train speeds and to improve the fluidity of yards and terminals on the northwestern route.

CN's extended siding program includes longer passing tracks to the Port of Prince Rupert.
Meanwhile, in early January, Edmonton Airports, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and Edmonton Economic Development Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding that is the first step toward making the city into a leading global transportation and trade hub.

One of the goals is to establish Edmonton as Canada's first "free port" to attract more international business. A free port allows goods for reshipment to be received and stored without paying duties.

The memorandum commits the three parties to ensuring that the Edmonton Region develops as a major North American warehousing, distribution, and multi-modal hub, linking road, rail, and air throughout the region with marine ports on the West Coast.

"Alberta's $46 billion GDP annual economy now has an express-lane to unprecedented trans-Pacific trade," said Ron Gilbertson, president and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corp. "Port Alberta will co-ordinate a strategy to optimize our region's 'road, rail and runway' infrastructure so Edmonton industry can capitalize on new export and back-haul opportunities with Asian markets."

The city of Edmonton is one of three communities, including Prince Rupert and Prince George, that have committed to working together to ensure the successful development of the northwestern transportation corridor.

Edmonton has hosted several events aimed at promoting the new Fairview Container Terminal.

Suddenly the Prince Rupert connection seems pretty solid

Earlier this year when the flooding waters laid waste to the Skeena main line in a number of locations, more than a few commentators suggested that the Northern main line from Rupert through to Edmonton may not be a reliable conduit of commerce for the soon to open container port.

However, with the winter storm season just barely underway, it would seem that the southern rail lines may be the more troublesome options for those seeking to transport their goods to the markets of the world.

While our southern acquaintances work on their transportation difficulties, the line from Rupert to Edmonton remains open and congestion free, going to show that Mother Nature will even the odds when given the chance we guess.

From the CN State of the railway board, there are details of the problems south of Kamloops for those wishing to move their goods…

- The CN main line between Edmonton and Vancouver is currently blocked as a result of three snow slides that occurred west of Kamloops BC on Monday morning, December 03rd. The Ashcroft subdivision and the Yale subdivision are blocked, and traffic scheduled to move through the area will be delayed by at least 24 hours.

- In addition, three snow slides have occurred along the Squamish subdivision, between Vancouver BC and Lillooet BC. Traffic along this line will be delayed by at least 24 hours.

- Environment Canada has issued a weather warning, advising that there is a likelihood of high volumes of freezing rain throughout the affected area. Such poor weather would impede recovery efforts, and we are following the situation very closely.